Octopus Overlords

I just started playing Trails of Cold Steel 3 over the weekend. Parts 1 and 2 are both excellent games and shouldn't be missed by anyone who likes JRPGs. Part 3 picks up a couple of months after the end of Part 2. If you played parts 1 or 2 then you will know what to expect with Part 3 as they haven't messed with a winning formula at all. They did of course add some new combat systems in to keep things fresh.

Here's some early impressions:

1. This one starts out much slower than part 2, it took me about 4 hours of gameplay before I hit an open area to explore.
2. The main character is about 3 or 4 years older than when the series started and he's still a great main character.
3. The amount of characters in this series is almost as big as the Game of Thrones series.
4. Even though I completed Part 2 less than a year ago I still forgot about half of the things they flash back to. BUT the game does give you a tab where you can go back read about events from parts 1 and 2.
5. The graphics have been upgraded a bit since the PS4 port of part 2, but it's still running on an engine that was designed for the Vita and PS3.
6. Even though the battle system is largely the same it is as good as ever and somehow hasn't become stale after 2 100 hour games.

Some other quick notes:

It's cool that they included a "Turbo" mode that you can turn on and off with just one button. Basically it speeds the entire game up and goes about 4x as fast. So if you are an impatient player it literally speeds everything up.

I may have been a bit harsh on the graphics earlier. While they aren't technically impressive, they aren't distracting either. In fact the character models seem to have received a boost in detail since the last game and the environment has more details. So it's not ugly by any means.

This game started off with several new characters and so far they are all as deep and interesting as Rean's previous companions. Which is a good thing.

I'd like an excuse to play Trails in the Sky that I bought on Steam years ago but fell asleep playing after the first half hour and never went back to. Is the story as mind-numbingly good as they say? Does it all warrant playing the 9000 games that come after, and the tens of billions of lines of dialogue that make Planescape: Torment's look like a modest brochure in comparison?

Sudy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:32 am I'd like an excuse to play Trails in the Sky that I bought on Steam years ago but fell asleep playing after the first half hour and never went back to. Is the story as mind-numbingly good as they say? Does it all warrant playing the 9000 games that come after, and the tens of billions of lines of dialogue that make Planescape: Torment's look like a modest brochure in comparison?

I can't answer that. I've only played the Trails of Cold Steel series. Although, they are all related somehow. If I'm you I just start the series at Trails of Cold Steel 1 and go from there.

I've played the first two Trails of Cold Steelgames. I got about 8-10 hours into both before getting bored and wandering off. Been tempted by this third one, but I'm fairly sure it'd just be more of the same.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:12 am I've played the first two Trails of Cold Steelgames. I got about 8-10 hours into both before getting bored and wandering off. Been tempted by this third one, but I'm fairly sure it'd just be more of the same.

They are all a slow burn. This isn't a 30 hour game. But if you make it to the 30 hour mark you should be golden for the whole 80 to 100.

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:16 am

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:12 am I've played the first two Trails of Cold Steelgames. I got about 8-10 hours into both before getting bored and wandering off. Been tempted by this third one, but I'm fairly sure it'd just be more of the same.

They are all a slow burn. This isn't a 30 hour game. But if you make it to the 30 hour mark you should be golden for the whole 80 to 100.

I generally love JRPG's, but have come to the conclusion that series simply isn't for me.

The odds of any game keeping my attention for 80-100 hours is pretty close to nil these days.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:18 am

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:16 am

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:12 am I've played the first two Trails of Cold Steelgames. I got about 8-10 hours into both before getting bored and wandering off. Been tempted by this third one, but I'm fairly sure it'd just be more of the same.

They are all a slow burn. This isn't a 30 hour game. But if you make it to the 30 hour mark you should be golden for the whole 80 to 100.

I generally love JRPG's, but have come to the conclusion that series simply isn't for me.

The odds of any game keeping my attention for 80-100 hours is pretty close to nil these days.

Old people

Sudy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:32 am I'd like an excuse to play Trails in the Sky that I bought on Steam years ago but fell asleep playing after the first half hour and never went back to. Is the story as mind-numbingly good as they say? Does it all warrant playing the 9000 games that come after, and the tens of billions of lines of dialogue that make Planescape: Torment's look like a modest brochure in comparison?

Because of this post I remembered that I have Trails in the Sky 1 on my Vita that I have never played. So I fired it up just to see if there was any cross over with the cold steel series. Sure enough after about 2 hours into the Sky game I can see a lot of cross over. Both series are set in the same world about 5 or so years apart. They both use the same magic system and basic battle systems. The biggest difference is that Sky is a traditional top down old school JRPG and Cold Steel is a third person JRPG. The main characters in Sky don't show up at all in Cold Steel 1 or 2 and after about 10 hours into part 3 they still haven't shown up. But the story is hinting at them showing up and has even dropped their names, so I think by about mid way into Steel 3 the stories will definitely come together.

So yeah the games are all related. BUT, I played the Cold Steel series first and I really never felt like I was missing something by not playing the Sky series first. However, my interest in the Sky series has gone way up after figuring this out and I will definitely play through Sky 1 and 2 on the Vita.

FYI Parts 1, 2, and 3 for the PS4 are on sale on the PSN right now. So if you were on the fence on this series now is the time to try it.

Just a little update:

I'm 8o hours into what is the 3rd game in a series where each game continues right where the last one left off and I still have no fucking clue who the actual main villains are in this game. That's not a bad thing either. There are so many different groups of characters with so many competing interests. The main characters still don't know either and at this point in the story they are mostly just trying to keep their heads above water and figure everything out. The good thing is I know the story wraps up in part 4 so I know it's all headed somewhere and there will be an eventual payoff.

If I had to pitch this series like a TV show I would say it's Persona (For the JRPG and social events parts) meets Game of Thrones (for the political aspects and sheer number of characters who are real parts of the story) but with mechs and swords. You could also throw in some Wheel of Time too.

You make me want to try the series eventually, but I know I'm not going to be able to find time before 2029.

Finished Part 3 yesterday and to say that nothing is resolved at the end of part 3 is an understatement. I haven't bought part 4 yet but I can't imagine it starting anywhere but exactly where part 3 stops. The good newsz is that early reviews of part 4 say that the story does wrap up at the end of part 4.

I think I'll hold off a little bit before starting part 4 though. For one thing I need a little bit of a break and I am also working my way through the Trails in the Sky series, which most definitely impacts the story in parts 3 and 4 of cold steel. I'm also anticipating AC Valhalla and Demons Souls taking up all of my time for the rest of the year.

ARISE!!

Since nothing was really grabbing me at the moment, I decided to go back and give this another look. Turns out, the two games I had previously played (and got bored with) were the Trails in the Sky games, and not the Trails of Cold Steel games. So I’m starting from scratch with this series.

I’m about 12 hours into the first game (just finished Chapter 2) and am wildly impressed so far. The characters are fantastic, and while they do fall into some anime tropes, they’re all extremely likable. The writing is superb and successfully pulls off dramatic, compelling, and funny in equal measure. “Slow burn” is a good way to describe the story, and I really like how they peel back the onion to gradually uncover things and set up the ne t story beats. The world is also quite fascinating and is developed very well.

I love, love, love the fact that I haven’t once had to wonder what to do next. All quests are very clearly marked on the map, and the fast travel makes it very easy to quickly jump around to where I need to be. There’s an excellent balance of doling out just a few quests at a time so it never feels overwhelming. Side jobs are quick enough to not feel like a huge chore, but interesting enough to want to do them. I also really appreciate the Turbo mode and while the graphics certainly look dated, they have a ton of old-school JRPG charm.

So far, I’m really impressed with the first game. We’ll see how it holds up, but there’s definitely a benefit to jumping into a series at the end so I don’t have to wait for new installments.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:55 am ARISE!!

Since nothing was really grabbing me at the moment, I decided to go back and give this another look. Turns out, the two games I had previously played (and got bored with) were the Trails in the Sky games, and not the Trails of Cold Steel games. So I’m starting from scratch with this series.

I’m about 12 hours into the first game (just finished Chapter 2) and am wildly impressed so far. The characters are fantastic, and while they do fall into some anime tropes, they’re all extremely likable. The writing is superb and successfully pulls off dramatic, compelling, and funny in equal measure. “Slow burn” is a good way to describe the story, and I really like how they peel back the onion to gradually uncover things and set up the ne t story beats. The world is also quite fascinating and is developed very well.

I love, love, love the fact that I haven’t once had to wonder what to do next. All quests are very clearly marked on the map, and the fast travel makes it very easy to quickly jump around to where I need to be. There’s an excellent balance of doling out just a few quests at a time so it never feels overwhelming. Side jobs are quick enough to not feel like a huge chore, but interesting enough to want to do them. I also really appreciate the Turbo mode and while the graphics certainly look dated, they have a ton of old-school JRPG charm.

So far, I’m really impressed with the first game. We’ll see how it holds up, but there’s definitely a benefit to jumping into a series at the end so I don’t have to wait for new installments.

FYI I think Cold Steel 1 is the weakest of the Cold Steel games. That's not to say it's bad, because it's not, it's a great JRPG. But the series definitely holds up over the course of the 4 games.

Here's a recent article from IGN that really sums up my thoughts on the entire Trails series.

https://www.ign.com/articles/how-to-get ... so-special

It's an excellent JRPG series and it's too bad it doesn't get more attention. I rank it above most of the Dragon Quest games, all of the Persona games, and most of the Final Fantasy games.

FYI I think it's perfectly fine to start playing the series with Cold Steel 1.

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:16 am It's an excellent JRPG series and it's too bad it doesn't get more attention. I rank it above most of the Dragon Quest games, all of the Persona games, and most of the Final Fantasy games.

Interestingly, part of the reason I hadn't played it is because of the Persona-ish social aspects. Managing the daily lives of teenage students holds absolutely zero interest for me, and I vaguely remember that being part of the initial marketing for the CS games that was a big red flag for me.
Thankfully, they balance it out very well (so far), with the social aspects being interesting but not overwhelming the entire experience. Unlike Fire Emblem or Persona, which both felt like 4 hours of dating sim for every 1 hour of actual RPG gameplay.

I'm hopeful that the balance they've struck so far continues throughout.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:57 am

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:16 am It's an excellent JRPG series and it's too bad it doesn't get more attention. I rank it above most of the Dragon Quest games, all of the Persona games, and most of the Final Fantasy games.

Interestingly, part of the reason I hadn't played it is because of the Persona-ish social aspects. Managing the daily lives of teenage students holds absolutely zero interest for me, and I vaguely remember that being part of the initial marketing for the CS games that was a big red flag for me.
Thankfully, they balance it out very well (so far), with the social aspects being interesting but not overwhelming the entire experience. Unlike Fire Emblem or Persona, which both felt like 4 hours of dating sim for every 1 hour of actual RPG gameplay.

I'm hopeful that the balance they've struck so far continues throughout.

As the series goes on the daily lives management part gets less and less. The characters age and get out of school. There's still a social aspect, but it changes to side quests, of which you usually have an option on which ones to complete.

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:07 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:57 am

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:16 am It's an excellent JRPG series and it's too bad it doesn't get more attention. I rank it above most of the Dragon Quest games, all of the Persona games, and most of the Final Fantasy games.

Interestingly, part of the reason I hadn't played it is because of the Persona-ish social aspects. Managing the daily lives of teenage students holds absolutely zero interest for me, and I vaguely remember that being part of the initial marketing for the CS games that was a big red flag for me.
Thankfully, they balance it out very well (so far), with the social aspects being interesting but not overwhelming the entire experience. Unlike Fire Emblem or Persona, which both felt like 4 hours of dating sim for every 1 hour of actual RPG gameplay.

I'm hopeful that the balance they've struck so far continues throughout.

As the series goes on the daily lives management part gets less and less. The characters age and get out of school. There's still a social aspect, but it changes to side quests, of which you usually have an option on which ones to complete.

That's great to hear, thanks.

Fyi, I just hit the 60 hour mark in the 4th cold steel game and without spoiling anything, the actual main antagonist of the entire cold steel series was just now revealed. It's crazy how far in advance they have planned the story in this series.

I'm around 25 hours into the first game, just hitting the end of Chapter 4 (of 7). It's actually sort of amazing how they've taken what is pretty much a bog-standard JRPG formula and made it incredibly compelling due to rock solid storytelling and world building. Now that I think about it, both the combat and Orbal systems are essentially a clone of FF VII (which may be why it's really clicked with me). It doesn't really bring anything new to the table and it doesn't look all that great, but I've been completely engrossed in this wildly compelling narrative. So far, they have skillfully avoided what I disliked so much about the Persona games by having a perfect balance of social aspects, exploration, and combat.

The writing is so incredibly well done, and the twists and turns the story has taken already (in just the first half of the first game), that I can't wait to jump back in every night to see what happens next. I'm honestly really surprised at how strongly it has its hooks in, but am really glad to have something I can really get into for a good long while. I'd also add that the music is fantastic, and the "Turbo" option is a godsend. Not sure I'd have the patience to slowly trudge around some of these big maps, but being able to zip around them quickly is perfect.

So far, so good.

Finished Chapter 5 over the weekend. Man, what a ride. The game does this really cool loop where you start with a specific high-level event without any context, then it flashes back 6 months and spends the next 30+ hours building you back to where you started. It was incredibly satisfying to go through that same series of events knowing who all the players were, and why it was so significant. I continue to be absolutely blown away by the story they're telling here. It is incredible.

Also, I love the music so much that I actually dropped $20 for the soundtrack on iTunes this morning so I could listen to it in the background while I'm working.

Skinypupy, out of curiosity what system are you playing this on? I played cold steel 1 on the vita, but then 2-4 on the ps4/5. I remember being really impressed by the vita version at the time. By the time they get to part 3 they squeze everything they can out of the game engine and 3 and 4 looked better than 1-2. Apparently there's 1 more game after cold steel 4 that is already out in japan that uses the same engine, but for the next one after that they are using an all new engine.

I'm on PS4.

The only thing I don't care for about the game are the incredibly cringy, often really creepy sexual comments that get thrown in at the most completely random times. The worst one was Alisa's grandfather commenting about how big her boobs had gotten since he last saw her. That was just...blech. They've seemed to have ramped up the frequency of those comments here in Chapter 6, which I'm not thrilled about.

These accounts make me want to try Trails in the Sky again, but then I think, "Wouldn't those 5,500 hours to play through this series be better used by becoming a doctor?"

Edit: Except for the grandfather boobs thing. I just went back and read that.

Sudy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:51 am These accounts make me want to try Trails in the Sky again, but then I think, "Wouldn't those 5,500 hours to play through this series be better used by becoming a doctor?"

I'll admit the time commitment is...intimidating. The good news is that the game is so good, that it never feels like a slog. Even if each chapter is a similar structure (campus tasks, old schoolhouse, field study, big boss, rinse, repeat), there's so much narrative packed into each one that I always look forward to seeing what big secret or reveal is around the next corner.

That said, I'll probably take a break after finishing this first game before jumping into the next. Don't think I could ever play them back-to-back.

I finished the PSP version of Trails in the Sky 1 yesterday via the Vita. My save file says it took me 70 hours, but i suspect about 20 of that was dead time.

Overall i enjoyed the game. It follows the trend of not really having an overall "Big Bad" who is out to destroy the world. Instead the main antagonists are really just political rivals to the Queen who are attempting a coup. I won't spoil the story, but it is nice playing a Japanese RPG that doesn't go into complete cliche with the characters both good and bad.

The story was a bit slow at times, but the ending has a huge payoff and it sets up the 2nd game rather nicely. I stick by my statement that you don't have to play the Sky series to enjoy the Steel series, but it does help fill in story elements and characters that start to show up in Steel 3.

So i usually take at least a couple months off in between playing installments of this series, but i couldn't help myself and bought Sky 2 on the vita yesterday. True to the series form it starts the day after part 1. I'll report back more after I get about 20 hours or so into it. But so far it plays exactly like part 1.

Finished Trails of Cold Steel this afternoon. Damn, what an ending...that I didn't see coming whatsoever. It made sense once they started doing a few flashbacks, but I never noticed any of it as it was happening. Never would have guessed that [REDACTED] was the bad guy. I finished just under 40 hours which is about perfect for me.

It speaks to the game's quality that nearly 1/3 of those who played it actually finished the entire thing, at least according to the achievement for completing the final chapter (showed 29.8% of players got it).

Would definitely give this first installment a solid A grade, and would rank it in my top 10 JRPGS. Maybe even top 5, to be honest...although I'd have to bump out either Xenosaga or Chrono Cross to make room. OK, maybe we'll just stick with top 10.

I only really have a couple gripes with the game:
1. The random inappropriate sexual comments - while few and far between (thankfully) - can be really grating. There's a point late in the first game where one of the female adult staff makes a joke about groping two of the other underage party members (Angelica talking to Millium and Fie). It's creepy AF, and I'm pretty sure the developers know it, since one of the other characters (Jusis) immediately says "You know they could hit you with a sexual harassment lawsuit, right?". I know this first game was developed nearly 10 years ago, and that there's some cultural differences around these things, and that my current sensitivity to these things is very high (thanks Blizzard!), but there were a few spots that kinda made my skin crawl.

2. There's really no way to immediately tell how powerful any of the specific Orbments will be without slotting them and actually testing them out in combat. By the end of the game I had hundreds of them in my inventory, and it would have been nice to be able to pick out specific ones that I knew exactly how potent they would be. I pretty much ended up guessing through most of the game. Also, the "10% chance" ones are worthless. Why would I take up a slot for those in place of something I knew would work every time?

I thought I might take a break, but there's really nothing else interesting me right now, so I went ahead and picked up the second game right away and will jump into it tonight.

Two quick questions, probably for Scraper:
1. It seems (from the trailers) that all the mechanics in the second game are identical to the first. Is that the case for all 4 games or do they change it up at some point.?
2. Do all four games have a Turbo option? I can't imagine playing it without it, as I think it would add at least half again as much time to finish. I tried running around and doing a few battles without it turned on, and it felt like running through mud. Such a slog.

The series as a whole has the same fighting mechanics, similar orbament system, the same combat system, it's all pretty uniform. What happens in each installment is they add at least 1 new fighting mechanic. I love the mechanics in this series so for me this is not a bad thing.

As for the turbo option I think only parts 1 and 2 have it. It's possible that 3 has it but I don't think part 4 has it.

And yes Angelica is grating, but thankfully she is a side player throughout the series so she's not in your face all the time.

I've been in a JRPG mood lately, and thanks to this thread I dragged my PS4 back out and was pleasantly surprised to see that Trails 1 and 2 were on PSNow. Subbed for a month to try out part 1 and I'm really enjoying it.

As has been pointed out, it's not really ground-breaking in any way from other JRPGs, but I'm still finding it pretty compelling somehow. I was a little overwhelmed with the combat system until I realized the intro just gives you access to everything. When the prologue actually starts, you're eased into combat with tutorial screens and limited features, which was a nice touch.

While I've enjoyed a lot of modern JRPGs which use a real-time or pseudo-real time combat system like FFVII remake and FFXV, I'm an old-school turn-based guy at heart. So I felt right at home here. At least I think I found a way to pass the time until New World.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Sat Aug 07, 2021 5:04 pm I've been in a JRPG mood lately, and thanks to this thread I dragged my PS4 back out and was pleasantly surprised to see that Trails 1 and 2 were on PSNow. Subbed for a month to try out part 1 and I'm really enjoying it.

I started the game on PS Now (which is the PS3 version), but ended up buying the PS4 version because it has the Turbo option. It cut the time to finish the game by at least 1/3, if not more.

I just reached the final chapter in Trails of Cold Steel 4 and it's kind of bitter sweet. I really want to see the story through to the end, but at the same time I don't want Rean and Class VII's story to be over. There is a nice character building story break just before the final chapter that really hits home how invested you become in all of these characters (And at this point it's literally over 30 of them). Perhaps my favorite part is an optional side quest wherein you can get a bunch of the women to have a drinking contest to see who actually is the best drinker in the bunch (I won't spoil the winner, but It wasn't who I had my money on).

I have my guesses as to how the story will end, but so far some of my other predictions have been dead wrong about where the story is going.

Scraper wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:00 am Perhaps my favorite part is an optional side quest wherein you can get a bunch of the women to have a drinking contest to see who actually is the best drinker in the bunch (I won't spoil the winner, but It wasn't who I had my money on).

My money is on either Emma or Fie.

I gave this a break, need to jump back in before I forget the story threads. I’m about 6 hours into the second game.

Someone asked earlier if all 4 of the cold steel games had a turbo feature and I can confirm that all of them do on the PS4. Somehow i got to the final chapter on part 4 before i realized there was a turbo feature.

I finished Cold Steel 4 over the weekend. I won't go into spoilers. I found the final chapter to be really satisfying. Somehow the game managed to bring together story threads from 8 prior games and wrap up a bunch of things that were started in the very first Legends game. The final chapter was easily the longest final chapter in the entire series but the actual ending was a little odd. After beating the last boss, the game goes to credits within 10 minutes. Which for this series is extremely quick. There are two different endings and I know I got the easiest one to get, so perhaps the more difficult ending is longer. However getting the other ending requires you to play all of the optional card game battles. (Which I hate with a passion, this is a huge pet peeve of mine in any video game, I can't stand playing the option card games in video games).

Over all though I can't recommend the series enough and I can't wait until they release the North American versions of the two Crossbell Arc games next year and the 10th game in the series in 2023.

Scraper wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:46 am I finished the PSP version of Trails in the Sky 1 yesterday via the Vita. My save file says it took me 70 hours, but i suspect about 20 of that was dead time.

Overall i enjoyed the game. It follows the trend of not really having an overall "Big Bad" who is out to destroy the world. Instead the main antagonists are really just political rivals to the Queen who are attempting a coup. I won't spoil the story, but it is nice playing a Japanese RPG that doesn't go into complete cliche with the characters both good and bad.

The story was a bit slow at times, but the ending has a huge payoff and it sets up the 2nd game rather nicely. I stick by my statement that you don't have to play the Sky series to enjoy the Steel series, but it does help fill in story elements and characters that start to show up in Steel 3.

Arise old thread!

So I just finished my playthrough of Trails in the Sky 1 and enjoyed it. I completely agree with Scraper's comments above about the story beats and the pay off at the end. It was slow at times, but the PC version was really smooth to play and I was intrigued to see where the plot was going. After the finish, I actually spent time tracking down the 1-2 dozen characters to find out their final thoughts at the conclusion of the game. And the set-up for Chapter 2 almost made me change my plans and install SC next. But nah - I'm still going to play Octopath Traveler next.

Anyway - great game. I enjoyed it a lot. Will definitely get to more in this series somewhere down the line.

I love this series. I'm anxiously awaiting Trails to Azure's release next month. We also get Trails into Reverie this summer.

FYI Trails to Azure came out this week on PS4, Switch and Steam. I played about 2 hours of it this morning. So far it's exactly like Zero, but they have added a master quartz system that levels up. The game starts very shortly after Zero and has a nice prologue that catches you up if you forgot some of the events from Zero.

Also, you can import your save from Zero as long as you beat Zero and the save is from the same platform.

By now you guys know I love these games and I see no reason why I won't like Azure. It's the last true old school isometric RPG in the series, so the nostalgia will be high with this one.

Ha! I picked up TOCS since it was 50% off on Steam. More to tide me over until BG3 comes out. Love the combat but thank goodness for the turbo mode for the long winded speeches.